E34: Conviction, Cheating, AI, and (Not) Predicting with Shawn Merani

Shawn Merani is the Founder and Managing Partner of Parade Ventures. Parade is a seed stage venture firm with an affinity for enterprise software. We talked about the state of seed investing, relationships, observing vs. predicting, cheating, AI and a huge win Shawn had recently with the acquisition of Moveworks. Shawn is a sharp guy and this was a really fun conversation. Please enjoy.

We also covered:

• The story behind Shawn’s early bet on Moveworks — and what made the founders stand out

• Why Shawn isn't big on predicting market trends

• How Shawn thinks about building high-conviction, concentrated portfolios

• The rise of secondary sales and what they mean for early-stage investors

• Why Shawn still believes in the power of enterprise software despite the hype cycles

• How he balances being relationship-driven with moving fast in today’s competitive seed market

• Shawn’s candid take on AI: opportunity, overuse, and what actually matters

• Why he tells his Berkeley MBA students that cheating only hurts themselves (and how he really feels about grades)

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.